American Green Chili Stew

By CayoKath

Created 2013 Nov 30 - 10:04

You must have some green chili stew with your sourdough bread!

This is a hugely popular dish in Colorado, USA, and every cook has their recipe. Every eater has their preference, too, so be warned. One person's "best ever green chili" could be not so good to you. I like MY recipe here because it doesn't confuse the matter and it's in a rich, gravy-like base deep with the delicious flavor of green chilies. It's simple, flavorful and easy to vary for your own preference. Some preferences that are common: adding canned tomatoes, adding cumin, adding garlic, making it thinner, making it thicker, using chicken instead of pork, adding tomatillos.

Try the leftovers on mashed potatoes. It's a winner!

You can use canned green chilies if you must.

The Dough

Ingredient:

Pork shoulder roast, boneless

Weight:

24.00

Measurement:

ounces

Grams:

680

Ounces:

24.00

Cups:

3.00

Type:

unknown

Ingredient:

Water

Weight:

64.00

Measurement:

ounces

Grams:

1814

Ounces:

64.00

Cups:

7.69

Type:

water

Ingredient:

Roasted, peeled, chopped green chili peppers, mild heat

Weight:

1.00

Measurement:

cups

Grams:

227

Ounces:

8.00

Cups:

1.00

Type:

unknown

Ingredient:

Chopped onion

Weight:

1.00

Measurement:

cups

Grams:

227

Ounces:

8.00

Cups:

1.00

Type:

unknown

Ingredient:

Chicken soup base

Weight:

2.00

Measurement:

ounces

Grams:

57

Ounces:

2.00

Cups:

0.25

Type:

unknown

Ingredient:

Ground black pepper

Weight:

0.25

Measurement:

tablespoons

Grams:

0

Ounces:

0.01

Cups:

0.00

Type:

unknown

Ingredient:

Salt

Weight:

0.50

Measurement:

tablespoons

Grams:

1

Ounces:

0.02

Cups:

0.00

Type:

unknown

Ingredient:

Ground cayenne pepper, or ground dried jalapeno chili

Grams:

0

Ounces:

0.00

Cups:

0.00

Type:

unknown

Ingredient:

Flour

Weight:

3.00

Measurement:

ounces

Grams:

85

Ounces:

3.00

Cups:

0.67

Type:

flour

Ingredient:

Butter or lard

Weight:

3.00

Measurement:

ounces

Grams:

85

Ounces:

3.00

Cups:

0.37

Type:

butter

Method:

Do NOT trim the fat off the pork roast.

In a large kettle, brown the pork roast well on all sides. Remove it from the pan and set it aside.

Brown the onion, then remove it from the pan and set it aside. Add the 64 ounces of water to the kettle with the salt and the pork roast. Simmer the pork roast until it's so tender that it breaks apart, which is at least two hours.

Remove the meat from the broth to cool. Cool the broth separately and skim off half of the lard. (I cool it overnight so the lard rises to the top. You can use this lard for the roux if you like.)

Add the chicken soup base, the chilis, and the black pepper to the broth and bring it all to a simmer while you cut up the pork.

Add cayenne or jalapeno pepper to achieve the heat level you prefer.

Add the pork to the stew. Make a roux of the butter or lard and 3 ounces of flour and introduce it to the simmering stew. Simmer and stir frequently until the desired thickness is reached.

Serve hot with shredded cheddar cheese and fresh sourdough bread (or in a small boule).